


To Kill a Prince

by Mercy_Rhyne



Series: Mercy's Bad Thing Happen Bingo [3]
Category: Sanders Sides (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Bad Things Happen Bingo, Bounty Hunters, Bounty on Their Head, But they're all off screen, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders Are Twins, Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders Angst, Fantasy AU, Idk I'm just saying things at this point tbh, Janus is mentioned, Major character death - Freeform, On the Run, Other, Queerplatonic Logic | Logan Sanders/Morality | Patton Sanders, Roman deserves better, Unsympathetic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Violence, angst without happy ending, slight gore
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-24
Updated: 2020-06-24
Packaged: 2021-03-04 07:15:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 15,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24899776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mercy_Rhyne/pseuds/Mercy_Rhyne
Summary: The kingdom of Aurora had two princes. Twins, with the crown prince Roman being only eight minutes older than his younger brother Remus. Everything went great. Until a message appeared. One that would change their lives forever.
Relationships: Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders & Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Logic | Logan Sanders & Morality | Patton Sanders
Series: Mercy's Bad Thing Happen Bingo [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1722406
Comments: 11
Kudos: 21
Collections: Bad Things Happen Bingo





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: major character death (off screen), minor character deaht (off screen), illness, fighting, attempted murder, lying, framing, slight gore, injuries, let me know if I missed something!
> 
> (I haven't fully proofread everything so I apologise for any mistakes haha)

The kingdom of Aurora had two princes. Twins, with the crown prince Roman being only eight minutes older than his younger brother Remus. The first years of their life, they spent pretty much together entirely, hardly away from one another. However, there came a time when Roman, as the crown prince and the future King, would need to be prepared for his future. If he was to be King, he needed the proper manners and the proper knowledge. He would spend more time in his room, studying, practicing. Spent time with private tutors to teach him about the cultures and people in their country, to teach him about the history and the laws he needed to know. 

In the meantime, Remus tried his best to get noticed by his parents, brother or anyone else in the court. Even despite their responses to him, despite them talking to them, he couldn’t help but feel invisible. He didn’t receive the same level of attention that Roman did. And while he was taught the history of their country, the laws and everything else, in case he needed to take up the crown in Roman’s stead, he felt like everyone in the court preferred his brother to him. He simply wasn’t as perfectly cut out to be a Prince. He wasn’t as adept at social rules, he didn’t want to be stuck inside, he couldn’t stand the niceties. He hated the formalities of the court. Yet he did everything he could in an attempt to be the perfect son. Just to be noticed. But when he found that didn’t work, he stopped caring as much. And he started noticing that acting out of line worked. If he argued with his tutor, if he ran out of the palace without telling anyone, if he spilled crude language over dinner, people _noticed_ him. And they weren’t happy with him, but at the very least he got _attention_. And that was all that mattered to him at this point. 

When the twins were sixteen years old, their father passed away on a diplomatic trip to another country. They were told it was an accident. A horse got startled when riding through the town, causing the carriage to go flying, eventually crashing into a building. Remus didn’t believe it. A friend from outside of the palace had told him that he’d heard rumours that it had been an assassination. But when Remus brought it up at home, he was scolded by his mother for believing such nonsense. Roman stood in the middle, looking at the both of them, but he didn’t let his expression betray anything of what he was thinking. Annoying little bastard. 

For the next couple of years, their lives were pretty much the same. Roman was still the favourite child, while Remus was the unseen brother. Big deal. He was used to it. He might as well be invisible at this point. 

But, a few months after the twin’s twenty-fourth birthday, something happened that opened a big door for Remus. Their mother fell ill. Terribly ill. 

It started with an innocent cough and some nausea. A little bit of lightheadedness. Fainting. After two months, she could barely stand on her legs anymore, although she refused to give up the throne just yet. As long as she was conscious of her actions, she could handle it. And as he sat by her bedside, Remus thought of an idea. 

The next day, he went out to meet his friend outside the palace. A street kid named Janus. He had many connections that someone like him should never have. But it was what he grew up with. Criminals, killers, outlaws of any sort. And so many more. How he got to talking to these kinds of people, Remus would never know. But Janus had mentioned multiple times that these people knew him since he could barely stand on his own two feet. 

Another few days had passed when a messenger came to the palace, holding a scroll. His face spelled panic, confusion, fear, and Remus had a feeling he knew what was coming. 

The court had gathered in the dining room — the messenger had ordered to leave the poor Queen alone; in her weak state, he did not want to burden her with a message like this. An unusual buzz of voices travelled through the dining room, mostly coming from the palace’s staff. They were curious why even _they_ were called in, and what could possibly be urgent enough to warrant a meeting like this. 

The messenger revealed that he had been out in a town nearby the city when he saw a poster. At first, he thought that it had been a joke. A prank of some sorts, but he had seen more hanging around in the town, and after asking some people about it, he found out that it was, in fact, a real poster. 

And what was on the poster, you ask? 

He slowly unrolled the poster to reveal a message: Prince Roman was a wanted man. Someone had put a prize on his head — 2 million peces, enough money to feed a large family for forty years, give or take — and accused him of high treason. No one seemed to know who was the one to make the request. Some people pointed in the direction of some kid named Janus, but he denied the fact stone-faced. The creator of the poster had refused to give out any information about whoever had requested it either. So the messenger was left with nothing. Just the fact that the crown prince of this country was wanted, dead or alive, and whoever it was that wanted him, they had money to spare. 

Immediately after the news Roman had rushed to his room. He didn’t bother to request a leave and no one stopped him either. For once, they understood why he would run out. He had never done anything wrong. He had done whatever he could to prepare for the throne, and now it was approaching him… this happened. He couldn’t imagine who would do such a thing. It was impossible to believe. 

In his head, he was already making plans. He’d have to get out of here. Crown prince or not, he was wanted — even if it was for a nonsense reason. People wouldn’t care. There was a substantial amount of money resting on his head and that was all that people would care about. 

He grabbed a bag, trying to find the most comfortable and least ostentatious clothes he could find. Just a few, so he could travel easily. He grabbed a leather satchel and reminded himself to grab some money as he left. 

The door opened behind him and as he turned around, Roman was met with his twin brother, who eyed him with worried eyes. “Are you alright?” he asked. 

Roman nodded as he grabbed the sword he kept in his room. It was a family heirloom. Maybe he wasn’t supposed to take this, if this was how things would go, but… he loved this sword. It was the least he could do. Besides… he needed to be able to defend himself somehow. 

“I am,” he said with a small smile. “I just… wish I could understand who would do such a thing.” He ran a hand through his hair, messing it up a bit, although he immediately fixed it after. Out of habit. “And why. I cannot imagine what I have done to… elicit this.”

“I think I have an idea,” Remus murdered as he stepped into his brother’s large bedroom. 

At this, the older of the two frowned, tilting his head slightly. “I don’t think I understand,” he said. “What do you mean?”

“Maybe, if you had a bit more regard for your family…” Remus shook his head with a soft chuckle. “Never mind. You would not understand it.”

“No, no, please continue,” Roman pleaded, taking a few eager steps closer to his twin. If he knew anything about this, even the slightest hint, he _had_ to know. He needed to understand this situation. “Do you know anything about who might have done this?”

“My dear brother,” Remus said with a haughty grin that made a shiver run down Roman’s spine. “You’re looking right at him.” 

Roman took a step back, looking at Remus with wide eyes. At first, he didn’t respond, hoping the other would back down and admit that it was simply a joke. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d made a tasteless joke. He’d get a good laugh out of it and admit that it had just been a joke. 

But he didn’t back down. 

“You can’t be serious,” Roman muttered, a pleading tone to his voice. “Remus, please tell me you are kidding.” 

Tears blurred his vision, threatening to spill as he tried to remember what he had done to his twin to deserve a treatment like this. 

But Remus just shook his head, crossing his arms in front of his chest. “I am afraid I can do no such thing,” he spoke. “After all, lying is unbecoming of a prince.” He quoted a lesson both of them had been taught a long time ago. A lesson that had often been repeated to Remus, who didn’t hold it in high regard.

Roman shook his head, trying to convince himself that this wasn’t real. “Why would you…?” he stammered, feeling like he was about to faint. “I never did anything, why did you… _treason_? Remus, I don’t… understand.”

The younger twin shrugged, seemingly not affected by his brother’s pleas. “That is not my problem to deal with, is it?” he asked, giving Roman a cold glare. “Why don’t you try to work that out for yourself?”

“Remus, I-”

“If I were you, I wouldn’t stay here much longer,” Remus said coolly, tilting his head to the side as he smirked at Roman in a way that the latter had never seen from him before. And he never hoped to see it again; it was near terrifying. “There will be people looking for you, no doubt.” 

Roman shook his head once more, opening his mouth in a final attempt to reason with his brother, even if he knew it was futile. 

“I’m serious, Roman,” Remus said in a playful tone. “Do not make me come after you myself, now. Because I will do it, if you are not out of my house soon.”

‘My house’. That wasn’t right. This was Roman’s house as much as it was Remus’. But then again… was he really home here? Now that his own brother seemed to have turned against him? Now that he was wanted for a fake accusation for treason? He wasn’t sure. 

“Can I at least say goodbye to mother, first?” he asked dejectedly, giving his brother one final pleading look. 

“Very well,” Remus said with a sigh. “You have five minutes. Do not make me change my mind.”

Roman gave the other a small smile as he walked out of the bedroom, in the direction of his mother’s chambers. He tried not to pay attention to the fact that this was the longest conversation the two of them had shared in years. 

He tried his best to smile as he stepped inside his mothers room. Tried not to cry as he sat down on the chair next to her and grabbed her outstretched hand. He couldn’t believe that he would not be able to be her for her until the very end. That he wouldn’t be able to be there for her funeral ceremony. Because if he showed his face… that would certainly not end well. 

“Ro, my dear,” the Queen suddenly spoke, her voice weak and soft. “Something has upset you. What is it?”

Roman shook his head as he rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand. “It’s nothing,” he said softly, looking down at their intertwined hands as the tears started burning in his eyes again. “I need to go on a trip. Down to the South. They have built a monument and it was supposed to be revealed coming week. And since you will be unable to go… I will need to be there.” He shook his head once more. “I fear I will not see you again when I return.”

The Queen squeezed his hand gently and smiled at him. “It is okay,” she whispered. “I understand, Roman.”

The prince looked up at her and returned her smile. He found himself thinking whether she knew he was lying. A part of him always felt like she could see right through him, but he didn’t want to tell her the truth. She was dying! She had her own issues to worry about. He didn’t want to pile even more on top of that. She didn’t deserve that. 

“But I-” He cut himself off with a shake of his head. He couldn’t do this. He didn’t _want_ to do this. He didn’t _want_ to have to say goodbye to his mother. But Remus, he- this was all on him. It was all _his_ fault.

“Come here,” the Queen interrupted his thoughts. Even her voice, soft and weak as it was, could easily pierce through his worries and his overthinking. She always could. 

Roman looked at her as she gestured for him to come closer. With the softest sniffle, he got up from the chair and walked to the side of her bed, kneeling next to the bed. 

“It’s okay, Roman.” She gently let go of his hand so she could cup his cheeks. “Everything will be okay. I know.” With every bit of her strength, she pushed herself into a sitting position, carefully kissing her son’s forehead. As she pulled away, she rested her forehead against his, with Roman looking down, trying to keep his composure at least a little bit. 

With him knowing that this was the last time he would ever see his mother, this gesture meant more than she could ever comprehend. Roman didn’t want to lose her, especially not like this. He didn’t want to leave her now. 

“You don’t understand,” he murmured, finally daring to look his mother in the eyes. As he tried to continue, she shushed him gently, running one hand through his hair like she used to do when he was younger and he was upset. 

“I understand enough,” she told him. A moment passed of them just looking each other in the eyes and the Queen wiped her son’s tears away with one hand, while the other still played with his hair. Roman almost felt like a kid again, and he wanted nothing more than jump onto the bed and hold her close. Maybe he could just hide himself underneath the blankets, and no one would find him. He’d be safe here. 

“I love you,” the Queen whispered, almost earning a choked sob out of her son. 

“I love you, too,” he said in return, heart aching at the realisation that this was the last time he’d ever hear his mother say that. The last time he could ever tell her that. 

After that, they remained silent. Roman leaning into the comforting touch of his mother’s hands, still continuing their movements, and he wished he could just be a kid again, so he didn’t have to deal with this. Whatever this was. He wanted everything to be normal again. He didn’t want to run. He didn’t want to leave his home. He didn’t want to leave his family — even Remus, even now. He just wanted everything to be normal. 

But then, a knock sounded on the door to the bedroom. The door swung open and Roman’s stomach twisted itself in a knot as he realised that it was Remus. 

“Roman…” he said softly, giving his brother a meaningful look. 

The older twin sighed and turned to his mother. “I’m afraid I have to go,” he spoke, grabbing the hand that had previously wiped the tears from his face in both of his hands as he pressed a kiss to the back of it. He then got up so he could help his mother lay down again. 

“Good luck, Roman,” she said, looking up at her son. She touched her hand against his cheek for a second and Roman grabbed it in his own hand, keeping it in place for a moment. “I suppose this is goodbye, then.”

Roman nodded. “I suppose it is,” he confirmed, he leaned forwards to press a kiss to her forehead. “I love you.”

He then got up and walked back to the door, not meeting Remus’ eyes as he did so. He couldn’t stand to look at his brother right now. 

The two remained silent as they walked away from their mother’s bedroom, even though Roman was very well aware of the heavy, meaningful and vaguely threatening look Remus was giving him as they did so. 

“Let me grab some money and I’ll be out of your way,” Roman said as they were far enough from their mother’s chambers. “Please. I need _something_ if I’m going to go out there _._ ”

Remus considered this for a moment, narrowing his eyes, and Roman was sure he was doing this on purpose. Just to unsettle him and mess with him a little bit more. He wouldn’t put it past his brother to do something like that. 

“Fine,” the younger of the two finally decided with a smile unnaturally sweet for him. “I will be here waiting. But try anything and you’ll have a lot more to worry about than just two million on that pretty little head of yours.”

Roman scowled and pushed past his brother, not even making an attempt to respond to him. He just wanted to get some money and go.

He knew exactly where to go. He went to his room, ignoring the pitiful looks the staff gave him, and filled his satchel with as many pieces of money as he could, as well as grabbing his travelling cape. It was dark brown and made of a light fabric, perfect for a long trip. Roman so would have loved to take more of his outfits, or his bright red cape, which was his favourite. But he felt like that would get him spotted and killed instantly. So he left it behind. 

He may have made a small detour to pass by the kitchen, where he managed to convince the cooks to give him some food for the road — mostly bread and some vegetables. Not exactly a rich meal for his standards, but it had to do. Only then did Roman go back to meet Remus in the hall, still not meeting his eyes. 

“I’ll be on my way, then,” he said softly, not quite knowing what else to say. It felt weird to leave without saying goodbye but he was not going to be polite to the cause of this entire mess either. The prince slung his bag over his shoulder and grabbed his sword before putting on his cape.

“As you should,” Remus said with a quick nod. “One last thing: you better pray I don’t run into you ever again. Because I can tell you that it will not be pretty.”

“Thank you,” Roman muttered as he made his way over to the door. “That is very encouraging.”

As he opened the door, the prince didn’t hesitate to step outside. Never before had the outside air felt quite as suffocating as it did now. It was supposed to be light and free, but instead, all that Roman could feel was the suffocating dread of knowing there would be people out for him. Literally hunting for him. Not exactly the definition of freedom. 

The prince instinctively made his way in the direction of the stable, thinking that, if he needed to run to wherever, he would take his horse. As a a means of transportation, but most importantly as a trusted companion, a memory. But he was stopped dead in his tracks by Remus’ voice. 

“Where are you going?” he asked in a singsong voice, standing in the door opening with his arms crossed and an eyebrow raised. 

“To the stables,” Roman called back matter-of-factly. “I’m getting my horse.”

Remus clicked his tongue disapprovingly. “I don’t think so,” he grinned confidently. “There is a decent price on your head, I’m sure people will be coming after you. Let’s not give you an unfair advantage, shall we?” Roman gave him an ‘are you kidding me’-look, which was returned by a chuckle. “You are always free to try, but do you want to risk it?”

Roman clenched his hands into fists and glared at his brother. He had never been quite so tempted to kill him as he was right now. The only thing stopping him, was the fact that he knew it would only make things worse. It wouldn’t get rid of the prize on his head, it would only add to his alleged ‘offenses’. And he knew that, even now, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself for killing his brother. 

“Fine,” he said through gritted teeth as he hid his face underneath the hood of his cloak. As much as he hated this — and he knew Remus was just doing this to humiliate him further, he just knew it — he didn’t want to risk it. Remus was capable of many things, and skilled too. He didn’t want to tempt fate even more. No, he’d have to survive without a horse. He wasn’t staying here any longer. 

Luckily, Roman knew all the secret and hidden routes away from the palace grounds, so he could get out unseen. His first goal was to make it to the forest, where he could walk without being spotted. Or so he hoped. From there on… he would see what would happen. 

By the time night had fallen, and the sun had set, Roman felt more exhausted than he ever had in his entire life. He had no idea where exactly he was, his feet hurt and he felt like he could pass out on the spot. He had made sure to keep an eye on his surroundings; the edge of the forest had to be, if he was correct, somewhere to his left. To the right of him, there would be a small creek so he could get some water. That was all he knew. Occasionally, he had made his way over to the edge of the forest to see his surroundings. There wasn’t a village in sight. It was just him and the forest. The prince wasn’t sure if this was a reassurance or not. On the one hand, he liked the quiet. It meant that it was less likely that someone would sneak up on him. On the other hand, however, it was disturbing. Not only would there be no one to help him if he got in trouble, but he was all alone. In the middle of nowhere. He didn’t know where he was and he was alone. That was a slightly unsettling thought. 

Nevertheless, he had to settle down for the evening. If he would set one more step forwards, he would collapse on the spot, he just knew it. So, he sat down on a fallen tree log and ate some of the bread he had snuck out of the palace. When he had finished, he decided to get up and try to find the creek, if he could in the darkness, and get a little bit of water before he had to go to sleep. He had no idea how healthy or clean this water was, as survival skills hadn’t been in his curriculum growing up, since no one thought he would ever need this. But he had to drink something and this was the closest he had to a drink, since he had forgotten to pack himself that in his hurry. 

Drinking from the creek was… difficult to say the least. Roman followed the sound of flowing water and finally knelt down as his eyes spotted a slight shimmer of the moonlight being reflected by the water. He made sure not to get his outfit wet and made a small cup with his hands to grab some of the water. It was a rather tricky business, as his hands… couldn’t quite carry so much water. But at least he _had_ water. Even if it was a little. Once he was satisfied enough, the prince got up and found a place to sleep. 

Getting comfortable enough to actually fall asleep proved to be the most difficult thing he’d ever had to do. There were twigs, stones and leaves everywhere and he could feel them with every little move he made. His bag had to serve as some sort of pillow — far from ideal, even if the clothes he had packed made it a little bit softer despite the food contents — and his cape had to be some sort of blanket. However, the cape, understandably, hadn’t been made for this. It was made for travel, not for sleeping and keeping one warm throughout the night. And the night air was cold. Despite the cape being able to preserve some body heat, Roman was far from comfortable in the cool night’s air. He was cold, twigs poked his back no matter how hard he tried to avoid them, and his head felt like it was resting on several small rocks covered in blankets. Nothing like the soft, warm bed he was used to. God, he missed home. It had only been a few hours, but he wanted nothing more than to go home. And it wasn’t even the fact that he was a spoiled prince who always got everything he wanted and couldn’t deal with it when things didn’t go his way. It was the fact that he was out here, alone, trying to sleep in a forest, knowing that there were people out to capture or kill him. Knowing that it was his own twin brother who had caused all this. Knowing that his mother was dying in her bed. Knowing that he could never, ever go home. He could never go back home. He would live the rest of his life — however long that would be — in fear of someone finding and killing him. He would always have to hide himself. He would never be able to get past this. He’d never be fully safe. 

Eventually, Roman managed to fall asleep. But it was anything but a comfortable rest. He woke up, multiple times, and when he was woken up God-knows-how-early by the sunlight shining in his eyes, he felt like he hadn’t slept at all. But he couldn’t complain much, could he? At least he was alive. Even if his entire back felt still and painful from his uncomfortable position.

The prince ate a tiny piece of bread as a sort of breakfast, drank some water from the creek and splashed a bit of water in his face. He sat on the same log he’d found the night before — at least, he thought he did, but who could say? It had been dark yesterday — before sighing and getting up to continue his trip to God-knows-where. 

The weeks after that weren’t too different. Roman would trek through the forest, or the fields — he hated walking through the open fields. It felt too exposed. He felt like someone could sneak up on him any moment. He felt like someone could run up on him and he wouldn’t even hear them coming. He felt like someone was watching him at all times. He hated it. 

Every once in a while, he would go into a village or a city he came across. He would go into an inn, get a room and some dinner. He’d eat his food and then spent the rest of the night in his room, so no one could see his face. The beds, while mediocre at best, were a welcome change from the twigs and stones that poked him everywhere in the forest, the grassy, hard underground of the open fields or the cold stone of the occasional cave he found. 

In the morning, he would eat breakfast at the inn and then leave as soon as he could. Every now and then, if he felt safe enough, he would spend a second night at the inn. He would get the same room and spent most of his time in said room, mostly resting and trying to get some more energy for the road ahead. He still had no plan on where to go and what would become of his life. But the truth is… he didn’t know what to do either. He had barely even expected to make it this far. He didn’t know what to do. 

One day, not too long after he had left home, Roman had spent the night in an inn and he was just leaving. The village was located mostly in an open field. There was a small forest in the distance, but it was still a long way. The prince had decided to go in the direction of that forest, so he could hide himself in the shadows and behind the trees. That made him feel so much safer than walking around in plain sight. He hated being so visible. Even if just him walking wouldn’t necessarily be dangerous or suspicious — especially seen from behind, with his hood up — he still felt so… _exposed_. Like someone could sneak up on him every moment. No, the forest was a better choice. 

However, before he could make it to the forest, Roman noticed a shadow sneaking up behind him, making his heart jump. Immediately, he spun around, facing the person behind him. He was face to face with a guy, clad mostly in black, other than his cape — which was still black, but with purple as well. He wore a purple mask that covered his mouth and nose, and from the looks of it, Roman was fairly sure he wore a brigandine, protecting his chest and stomach. Not to mention the sword that was now pointed at his throat. 

The prince hissed in shock and backed up, turning as he tried to run away. However, the man — a bounty hunter, no doubt — reacted almost immediately, pinning Roman’s cape to the ground with his foot. This caused the other to fall over, unable to move, and he struggled to get rid of his cape in the hopes to get away. 

Roman managed to take off his cape quite easily, despite his panic and shaking hands, and scrambled to get up. By this time, he decided it wasn’t worth it to run. Not yet. The bounty hunter was too close and would follow him. And he’d outrun him, without a doubt. Roman wasn’t in the right condition to outrun someone. Especially not a bounty hunter, who would undoubtedly be fitter than he was. Luckily, he still had his sword to help him.

In the blink of an eye, he had drawn his sword, to parry the attack aimed at him. Immediately after, he tried to attack. An attempt that was easily blocked, as well. 

The duo carried on their fight for a bit, neither one of them managing to overpower the other. Roman had to admit, this hunter was skilled. He himself had had many years of practice and he liked to think he had gotten quite good at it. But so had this man, apparently. He was easily able to keep up with the prince, hardly breaking a sweat as he did so.

But finally, Roman managed to disarm the bounty hunter. He kicked the sword away to make sure the other wouldn’t be able to jump at the weapon and grab it again. As he did this, the hunter grabbed the wrist holding his sword tightly, twisting it. Roman gasped and let go of the sword, fearing that the other guy might break his wrist if he didn’t do so.

“Nice try,” he growled as he kneed Roman in the stomach, followed by a knee to the face as the prince doubled over. “But I’m not that easy to catch.” He pulled a dagger out of his boot. “Seems like I can’t say the same for you.”

Roman blinked, taking a moment to recover from the knee to his face. He’d be lucky if his nose wasn’t broken yet. But he couldn’t take too long, because he was in a life or death situation here. He was just in time to duck to avoid the dagger most certainly aimed at his face. 

He twisted himself so that he could kick at his opponent’s ankles three times until he stumbled back. Roman kicked himself up, hitting the hunter in the chin. The prince got up and ran in the direction of the forest. He’d be leaving his cape and sword behind, which sucked. Especially the sword, since it was a family heirloom that had been in their family for generations, but right now, he valued his life a little bit more than a few objects. 

He didn’t get very far, though, because the bounty hunter threw a dagger from his position on the ground, embedding it in Roman’s calf. The prince gasped, tried to keep going, but eventually fell over, unable to carry his weight with his injured leg. 

The hunter came up behind him, having picked up his sword from the ground. Despite his common sense yelling at him, Roman pulled the dagger out of his leg in order to protect himself, holding the weapon out to block the sword coming down. 

“Please, just… let me go?” he tried as he looked up at the other man. He was sure it wouldn’t help, but trying could never hurt right?

The hunter looked at him for a second, his eyes emotionless, before he spoke up. “Not a chance,” he decided. “There’s too much money on your head. I can’t let that go.”

Of course he couldn’t. Roman couldn’t say it was unexpected. But still- he had to do something. Imagine if the other would just nod and agree to let him go! He couldn’t let that chance slide, so… 

"I thought you'd say that." He rolled to the side to get away from the other, kicking his legs away with his own uninjured leg. "So I'm sorry."

He jumped at the hunter, pinning him to the ground and making sure he couldn't reach for any of his weapons. Roman threw the dagger aside, for even in a life or death situation, he couldn't get himself to kill another man. He aimed a quick punch at his opponent's jaw with an uppercut, causing his head to snap up. Once he was sure the other was knocked out, the prince got up, limping in the direction of his sword and his cape, retrieving the items before making his way away from the scene.

Roman ran and didn’t stop running until he had made it deep into the forest, sure that there was no one following him. Every step he took hurt, a new wave of pain seemingly rippling from the wound on his leg with every step. But he couldn’t afford to pay attention to that. It was this or it was death, and he didn’t want to die just yet.

Once he felt safe enough to stop, the prince fell to the ground, breathing rapidly. Now that he was alone, he finally allowed himself to actually _feel_ the stress of the moment. He’d been terrified for his life, but he couldn’t afford to take a moment to pay attention to this. But now he was safe… 

His hands shook as he grabbed the hem of his cape, tearing off a strip of the fabric to use to bandage the wound on his leg. He logically knew that he needed to get this checked out, get it cleaned so it wouldn’t get infected. But there was no way that he would go back into that town. He’d be likely to run into that hunter again and he was not risking that. 

Once he had bandaged his wound, Roman shifted his position so he could sit without putting too much pressure on it. He pulled his legs close and buried his face in his knees, allowing himself to be off guard for a while. He couldn’t- he just couldn’t deal with all of this anymore. All the stress, the pain, being hunted like an animal — he was starting to think it wasn’t a coincidence bounty hunters were called that.

He couldn’t afford to cry right now. Which was a dumb thing to say, but it took too much energy that could better be used trying to get as far from here as possible. It dehydrated him, meaning that he’d have to find water soon. And it could give away his position in case the hunter had followed him. And he wouldn’t be alert. But he couldn’t help himself. He felt miserable. How could things have gone so far? Just a few weeks ago, his life was _good_ . He was the future King of this country and sure, his mom was dying, which hurt him more than anything — he wondered how she was doing; he didn’t even know if she was alive right now — but he’d _had_ a life. He’d had a roof over his head, food, a future. He didn’t have to worry about anyone trying to kill him. And now… he didn’t have a house, a family. He didn’t have income or even a guarantee he’d have enough food to survive another day. He didn’t have a future. He couldn’t even be sure he’d live to see the end of the day. His life was pretty much nonexistent at this point. He was cold and exhausted and he knew he shouldn’t complain cause there were probably people in worse situations than his, but he _hated_ this. He’d never felt so terrible as he did now. A few weeks ago he lived in a palace and now… he had to sleep on the forest floor, with a bag as a pillow and his torn cape as a blanket. His leg was injured and he knew he couldn’t afford to have it checked out. He didn’t know what he’d done to deserve this, but he wished someone would just _tell_ him instead of leaving him in whatever this was. 

It took him a bit, but eventually, his pained sobs of self-pity died away. Though Roman felt like he stopped more for a lack of tears left to cry rather than him being okay again. It took him a while after that to get his breathing back to normal, and even longer to feel like he was capable of getting up and moving on. But once he felt like he was able to get moving again, he didn't hesitate to move. He had to get away from here as soon as possible.

It took Roman a while to recover, but at least he _did_ recover. He managed to make sure it didn’t get infected. Even though he didn't have extensive medical knowledge, he knew of some herbs and plants that were said to have healing properties, so he used those to treat his wounds.

At first, it was difficult to move. His leg hurt and he had nothing to block out the pain. But despite his injuries, he stayed away from the cities as much as possible. And even if he did go into a town, he usually went in for resources, some food or maybe something to drink. He didn't spend a night at an inn, out of fear of being found out. He didn't want to run into another bounty hunter. Especially not right now, being unable to run away if he had to. It took him a long time to feel comfortable going into a town.

And even when he did start going back into the towns, Roman felt like people were staring at him, no matter where he went. He felt like they nudged each other and whispered about who this stranger would be. About why he hid his face so far in the hood of his cape. About why he came, went to an inn, where he spent the entire night in his room, had breakfast in the morning, and left. He felt like everyone knew him. Like they were all wondering what he was doing here. That he had some gall thinking he could just show up here. 

And a few times, people _had_ recognized him. Sometimes, he saw it in the smile on their face as they gave him the food he had ordered. Or the way-too-polite smile when they showed him to his room, sometimes definitely a room worth more than he had paid for. Or he saw the pity in their eyes as he came to them to book the cheapest room they had in order to save his money. But most of the time, he could see it in the way their eyes followed him as he passed them. Suspicious, thoughtful, but reluctant to step up and do anything. Despite that, he’d always keep his hand close to his sword. Ready to fight if anyone came close to him. 

A few times, it had actually gotten that far. One time, he had just sat down in an inn, waiting for the food he had ordered, when someone sat down in the seat opposite him, leaning so far over the table that Roman could smell the alcohol and cigar smoke on their breath so clearly he could almost tell you which brand it was. 

“Say, you don’t happen to be that one prince, do you?” they had asked him, a broad grin on their face betrayed the fact that they already knew what the answer would be. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Roman didn’t look at the stranger as he spoke, his hand dropping to his lap, so he could get his sword if needed. He was painfully aware of his lack of local accent, that most definitely made him stand out in the crowd. 

Before he knew it, someone had grabbed him from behind, grasping his upper arms tightly as they pushed him forwards until his upper body was pinned to the table. Before he could reach for his sword, the hands had moved to his forearms. One hand then gripped both of his wrists. The other hand released him and pushed against his back, keeping him pinned to the table as the stranger in front of him grabbed his chin and tilted his head upwards. Their other hand pushed back the hood of his cape so they could look at his face fully. 

“Yeah, this is the one, guys,” they grinned as their eyes locked with Roman, who struggled against the people holding him, but was unable to do anything in his current position. “Oh, we’re gonna get a good prize for you.”

Roman’s heart started beating faster as his eyes darted across the room. Everything seemed to have come to a halt. People were watching the scene unfold, but no one seemed to want to interfere. Of course they didn’t. Even if you didn’t believe the accusations, no one wanted to be caught trying to help anyone accused of high treason. Even if that someone was the former crown prince. He couldn’t even say he blamed them. But that just meant he would have to fight his way out of here. A voice in his head told him it was better to surrender and let them do whatever they wanted. Then, at least, all of this would be over. He wouldn’t have to live a life in fear of being found out and killed anymore. But he couldn’t just give up like that. That wasn’t in his blood. 

So, Roman pushed the chair back, shifting his weight to the front until the hind legs came up, so he could slam the legs into the feet of the person holding his arms. He heard a yell coming from behind him, and as soon as he felt their grip slacking, the prince pulled his arms free. He grabbed the wrist of the guy in front of him and twisted it so they’d let go. He then got up and tried to run out of the inn as quickly as he could. However, before he could get out, the guy who had sat in front of him got up to block his path. 

Before they could try anything, the prince punched them in the face, making them stumble back a few steps. Then, his other wrist was grabbed from behind and pinned to his back. 

“Don’t think you’re getting away from us, Princey,” the person holding him back hissed into his ear as their other hand came across his collar bones to grab his shoulder tightly and press him into them. 

“Sorry to disappoint, then,” Roman hissed under his breath. He threw his head back, heatbutting the guy. As their grip loosened, he managed to get himself free. However, he didn’t get very far, because the guy in front of him punched him in the face with enough force to throw him off balance and send him stumbling into the table next to him. 

“Sorry,” he murmured to the couple at the table as he tried to push himself up. Then, a hand grabbed his hair and pulled him back before throwing him to the ground. This was going great, huh? 

A foot came up to kick him in the ribs a few times before the owner of said foot crouched down, pinning Roman to the ground as he grabbed the prince’s wrists in of of his hands, squeezing slightly. 

“Let me go,” Roman hissed out as he struggled against the guy’s grip, despite knowing that his words would fall on deaf ears.

“Don’t think so, little prince,” the man grinned devilishly and he held out one hand, as one of his friends handed him a piece of rope, which he then wrapped around the prince’s wrists tightly, despite the latter continuing his struggle. 

At some point during the tying together of his wrists, Roman got an idea and he waited, halting his struggles for just a moment. However, as soon as the man had finished tying his hands together, the prince moved his hands so he could put them behind the man’s neck and pulled his head a little closer. When Roman deemed their heads close enough, he headbutted the man. With the momentary distraction it caused, he managed to push the guy off of him. He kicked at the legs of the guy closest to him, causing them to crash into the table he had occupied not too long ago. 

He pushed himself up, struggling to do this due to his hands being tied together. But, he managed. And when he was up on his feet, he tried to make a break for the door. The first guy to have approached him stopped him and the prince didn’t hesitate to step on their toes, spinning slightly so he could elbow their stomach and he kicked back against their knee. This caused them to fall over and gave Roman the chance to run outside, grabbing his bag as he passed his table.

However, he wasn’t the only one that made it outside, as two other guys followed him, one of them managing to grab his cape to stop him in his tracks. 

“You didn’t think we’d make it that easy, did you, now?” they hissed as they threw him into the wall of the inn, pinning him against the bricks. 

“I was kind of hoping you would,” the prince responded as he dodged a punch aimed at his face, kneeing the guy pinning him in their crotch. They doubled over and he managed to pull himself free, but as he tried to get away, the person on the ground hooked their leg around his, causing him to fall over. His bag fell out of his hands, landing a few feet away from him.

As soon as Roman was on the ground, the other lunged at him, aiming two successful punches at his face before the prince managed to get his hands up to protect himself. He kicked at the person on top of him. As he put some distance between the two of them, Roman could turn himself around and try to crawl away. 

Just as he tried to push himself up to make a break for it, he was pinned to the ground again, his face and hands scraping against the stone on the ground. This time around, his attacker pressed down with pretty much their full weight, making it much more difficult to get away. And he tried, he really did, but he was exhausted and out of shape, while his attackers were much stronger than he was. 

He was starting to think that maybe, it was best to give up. He couldn’t run forever, after all. Sooner or later, he would stumble into something he could not outrun. Maybe now was that time. 

Roman took a deep breath as he decided this, and from the chuckle coming from the person on top of him, he reasoned that they must have noticed this as well.

“Finally decided to give up, eh?” they asked softly, the voice uncomfortably close to his ear. “Good.”

The prince rolled his eyes, but he didn’t respond. He didn’t think it was worth it. It wasn’t as if he could say anything to change this, anyways. 

But just then, another voice spoke up. A voice Roman hadn’t heard yet. It was firm, yet with a gentle tone to it. “What is going on here?”

A brief silence fell and Roman tried to see whoever the voice belonged to, but in his current position, with his cheek almost glued to the road below him, he couldn’t quite see the owner of said voice. 

“Nothing you should be concerned about, Blythe,” came a voice from somewhere to Roman’s left. 

“I don’t think that’s quite right,” the voice responded calmly. “You’re clearly bothering this guy. I feel like that’s something that should concern me.” 

“Do you even know who this guy is?” The guy that spoke pressed their elbow down in Roman’s back with just a little more force as they talked, as if they wanted to make a point.

“I don’t,” the voice admitted, “But I don’t need to know that in order to know that you should leave him alone.” It remained quiet for a little bit and it was clear that no one wanted to speak up, so the newest voice continued. “Look, I don’t want to do this, but if you don’t leave now, I’m afraid I might have to make a few conversations here and there…”

“You wouldn’t dare, Blythe.”

“I would,” ‘Blythe’,” shot back. “I don’t want to, but I will if I have to.”

A silence fell after that. Roman closed his eyes and he just wished for this all to be over soon. Whether the guys would kill him, or leave him alone, he didn’t care. He just wanted this to be over. His head was spinning and he was dizzy and tired and he couldn’t deal with this anymore. 

“Fine,” the guy on top of him finally hissed, receiving mixed reactions from their accomplices, although it seemed like their sense of self-preservation was stronger than their need for money. They grabbed Roman’s hair to pull his head up slightly, bringing their mouth close to his ear. “You’re lucky, rat. You better hope we don’t see you again.”

As they finished their hissed threat, they pushed the prince’s face back into the ground. Then, they got up and walked away, muttering something to their friends. 

A set of footsteps drew closer as Roman tried to push himself up. His hands were still tied together, so this was anything but easy, especially with how he was shaking. The newcomer crouched in front of him and gently helped him up. Normally, Roman would have pulled away, but he couldn’t find the energy to do so. 

“Hey, are you okay?” the stranger asked softly, supporting Roman. 

He shook his head. “I-” He wasn’t. But he couldn’t just admit that. He didn’t want to say that he wasn’t okay. But he couldn’t lie either. “Thank you,” he just said. “For helping.” 

“Of course,” the man said as he carefully reached for the rope around the prince’s wrists, trying to untie the knot. “You have anywhere to go?”

Roman shook his head. “I was going to stay at the inn, but…” He looked at the building. There was no way he would go back there now. There was no way he’d stay here. As the stranger reached for the rope, Roman instinctively pulled away. As much as he appreciated the help, he didn’t feel safe staying here. “I should… get out of here. I’m sorry.”

He wanted to walk away, but the other man put a hand on his shoulder. “Where will you go?”

Roman shook his head. “I’ll be fine,” he gave the stranger a small smile as he lifted his hood to cover his face again, struggling a little due to his hands still being tied together. But he managed eventually. “Thank you, but…”

“I can’t let you go out like that, though,” the other spoke softly. “You’re hurt.”

“I’ve dealt with worse,” the prince retorted. “I appreciate the worry, but I’ll be fine. Really.”

Besides, he didn’t want to go home with a total stranger. For a number of reasons, to be fair. First of all, he wasn’t sure he could trust this guy. Yes, he had helped him, he had gotten rid of the guys attacking him. But that didn’t mean anything. It didn’t prove that he was totally good. For all Roman knew, he had just gotten rid of them to keep the money on Roman’s head to himself. But even if he could trust this guy… staying with him would make him a target as well. He couldn’t let someone else be hurt just because they tried to help him. 

“Look… I get it if you don’t trust me,” the stranger spoke, seemingly having read Roman’s mind — or at least, part of it. “But at least give it a chance? You need someone to check out those wounds. I’ll give you a place to stay. You can barely stand on your feet, I can’t let you leave without supervision. Who knows what could happen?”

“I appreciate the offer, I really do,” Roman told the man with a smile. Because he did. This man was probably the first time someone had actually stepped in to help him. And while he didn’t understand _why,_ he did appreciate it. “But I can’t accept your offer. I couldn’t endanger you like that.”

“But I don’t mind!” the man called. “You need help and I want to give it to you. At least… give it a chance?”

Roman bit his bottom lip — oh God, he tasted blood . He couldn’t say that it wasn’t tempting. The prospect of being able to go into a home, to sit and maybe even have a place to sleep for the night… that was tempting. But he still had his doubts.

However, as he looked at the man, he saw a kind of… stubbornness in his eyes. He wanted to help and Roman was fairly sure he wouldn’t just give up because Roman said no. 

“I don’t suppose you’d take no for an answer?” he tried, managing a smile. 

“You suppose correctly,” the man nodded in response. “I can handle myself. Just… let me help you?”

After a moment of deliberation, Roman sighed. He really couldn’t turn down this offer. His head was spinning, he was shaking and exhausted. If he had to get out of here, he would have to spend the night on the forest floor, he would have to survive of pretty much no food. He wasn’t sure he could even get through that. So maybe… being killed by someone when he didn’t expect it was a slightly better way to go than shivering on the cold forest floor. 

“Fine,” he said with a small nod. “But I’d like to know your name, if that’s okay. I don’t feel comfortable referring to you as just… ‘guy’.”

The other man chuckled at this comment and nodded as he crouched down to grab Roman’s bag, before walking up to the prince to support him as they went back to his home. It was clear that Roman would no be able to walk too far. 

“Patton,” he said with a smile at the other, who nodded. 

“Well… It’s a pleasure meeting you, Patton,” he said softly. 

“Can I know your name too, then?”

“Ro,” the prince responded without batting an eye. He had expected this question and he had already decided that he would not be comfortable with giving up his full name. He was well aware that there were multiple people alive named Roman, but… Patton seemed to be unaware of who he was. And if this was true, Roman wanted to keep it that way. At least for as long as he could. He didn’t want to reveal his identity right now, in case that might make the other second guess his decision to help him. And giving him his full name… was a risk. One that he didn’t want to take right now.

“Ro,” Patton repeated softly. “It’s a pleasure meeting you, too!”

The two of them had to walk a little bit to Patton’s house on the edge of the village. As they walked through the small streets, Patton talked to Roman about their situation. Apparently, he lived together with his queerplatonic partner, Logan. But he assured the prince that this Logan would have no issues with having him there. And there would be more than enough space for the three of them to sleep and to just… live comfortably, if Roman was comfortable enough with staying with them. Roman smiled and listened, occasionally humming in response to his words, but he didn’t speak up much. Patton noticed this, but didn’t seem to mind it. Or at the very least, he didn’t comment on it.

After a few minutes, they made it to the house; a small, wooden cottage near the forest that bordered the town. It was remote, neighboured by only four other houses. Even in the dim lighting of the one street light that was lit around here, Roman could see the vague colours of plants and flowers planted around the house. 

Patton let Roman inside, calling out to Logan that he was home. Roman followed, looking around. It wasn’t a large house, nothing like what Roman was used to. But it was nice, and definitely better than the inns he’d visited lately. The front door opened into a small living room, with two couches in a right angle. On the other side of the room, there was a small kitchen area with a fireplace, some cabinets and a dining table that, by the looks of it, was used to store clutter more than it was used for eating. A stairwell at the back of the room would lead them upstairs. 

“You can sit down on one of those couches,” Patton told Roman gently as he walked over to the kitchen area. “I’ll be with you in a second, I’ll just get some water.”

The prince nodded and did as he was told, keeping his cape on just because he felt more comfortable that way. Patton grabbed a bowl and went out through the back door. As he was left alone, things became quiet, leaving Roman with just his thoughts. His mind was still all over the place and his heart was racing. As horrible as it sounded- he had gotten used to being attacked when just trying to mind his own business. But that didn’t make it any less terrifying. That didn’t make the fact that there were people out there, willing to kill him any less frightening. 

Soon enough, Patton came back holding the bowl, now filled with water. He took a white cloth from one of the cabinets and walked over to the prince, noticing his still tied together hands. 

“So, Ro,” Patton started as he sat down on the small table before Roman, setting the bowl on the ground next to him. “If you don’t mind me asking… what did those guys want with you?” He silently gestured to the other’s hands, who quickly handed them over. 

The prince frowned and studied the older man’s face in confusion, trying to figure out if he was putting up an act or not. “You don’t know?” he asked softly. 

Patton shook his head as he started trying to untie the knot. “I haven’t seen you around here before,” he explained. “I don’t know what they’d want.”

“I…” Oh. So he really didn’t know? That was… a relief. And also completely terrifying. Here’s to hoping Roman wouldn’t mess it up somehow. “I’ve got to say, I’m surprised. I think my head’s plastered on pretty much every surface available.” Patton halted in his movements to look up at Roman with a frown, silently asking for more explanation. “I guess you could say, I’m… sort of a wanted man around… everywhere.”

“Oh?” Patton tilted his head, his hands blindly working on the knot — and making considerable progress.

“It’s not… my brother wanted to get rid of me,” the prince mumbled with a small frown, looking away so he didn’t have to deal with the other’s response to this. The hood of his cape fell down, hiding his face completely. “He lied. Accused me of treason, but I haven’t done anything, I swear. He just… lied. To get his way.”

“Oh.” It was silent for a second and Roman felt the rope slipping away from his wrists as Patton managed to undo the knot fully. “Ro, I- I’m so sorry.”

“It’s fine,” the younger man said with a shake of his head. “It’s… It happened. I can’t change much about it now. All I can do is… not die.” He scoffed as he lifted his head slightly, but still avoiding Patton. He didn’t want to see the pity that would undoubtedly be all over his face. “This is a dumb question, but… can I keep that rope? It might- come in handy later.”

Patton nodded and handed the rope over, his eyes studying the other closely. He acted like he wasn’t hurt by these recent developments — both the betrayal of his brother and the recent attack. But he could see that this was a façade. The poor kid was tired. No, he was more than that. Exhausted. He looked about ready to pass out. Not to mention the scrapes on his hands and face, the bust lip and the bruises starting to form. And that was only what was visible right now. 

“I’m sorry he did that to you,” Patton muttered as he grabbed the bowl of water. Ro seemed like a genuinely good person — he prided himself on his ability to read people well and there was no way that Ro would ever harm someone. “You have a few small wounds on your hands and face, so I’ll just clean those up real quick, yeah?”

Roman nodded and kept his hands in place as the other man wet the cloth and brushed it against the wounds slightly. They hadn’t bled a lot, but it was still good to clean them. To be sure. 

“Now, I’m no doctor,” Patton spoke up as he finished cleaning the wounds on Roman’s hands. “I only know a few things. But if you want, I could get the doctor to come by and check you out, to make sure you’re okay.”

Roman shook his head stubbornly. He didn’t want anyone to know he was here. He didn’t want it to come out that the ‘treacherous’ former crown prince as still in town. That would endanger him, Patton _and_ his partner. They didn’t deserve that. On top of that, he didn’t want Patton to go through so much trouble for him. _He_ didn’t deserve that. He was just planning on staying here for a little bit, not intruding on their lives too much, and then get out. Go somewhere else, where they hopefully wouldn’t be trying to kill him. Maybe he needed to figure out a way to get out of the country. Start a new life somewhere else. 

Patton moved forwards slightly and rested two fingers underneath Roman’s chin to study the injuries on his face. There were a few marks on his jaw where his face had scraped against the stone pavement, and he had a busted lip. “Are you sure?” Patton grabbed the cloth again and held it underneath the water for a few seconds before starting to clean the blood from his lip. 

Roman flinched back a little at the sudden touch, but managed to keep still after that. He looked down so he wouldn’t have to look at Patton, who was rather close for someone he hadn’t met before. “Yeah,” he muttered. “I wouldn’t want to cause you any more trouble.”

“It wouldn’t be any trouble,” Patton assured him, but one look at the prince told him more than enough. “But if you’re sure… I just don’t want you to get hurt any more.”

“I’ll be fine, really.”

Finally, the other nodded. “If you say so…”

The two remained quiet for a little while, before someone came downstairs. That had to be Patton’s partner, Logan, greeting Patton absentmindedly. As he got to the bottom of the stairs, he noticed the stranger on their couch and froze, looking at Roman for a second before he turned to Patton. “You… brought a guest?” he asked, confusion clear in his voice. 

“Oh, yeah, this is Ro,” Patton said with a nod, not looking away from the prince as he cleaned the last of his injuries. “I found Arthur and his friends harassing him, I wanted to take care of him. Make sure he’s okay.”

Logan nodded as he made his way over to the two of them, his eyes studying Roman. “Are you?” he asked. “Okay, I mean. Arthur isn’t exactly known to… take it easy, I suppose.”

“I noticed,” Roman muttered. Patton finished up cleaning his injuries and stepped away to get rid of the cloth and the water. “I am, though. Thanks to Patton. Thank you, for asking.”

Patton announced he’d be going outside for a bit, but he’d be back soon. This left Roman and Logan alone and for a little while, there was a silence between the two. Roman occasionally snuck a glance at the other man, who almost always looked at him, as if he was thinking about whether he should say something or not. 

Finally, he had decided that, yes, he would ask it, and he opened his mouth. “Did you actually commit treason?” 

The was a beat as Roman looked up, locking eyes with Logan. He hadn’t mentioned treason. Patton hadn’t mentioned treason. So either he had overheard their first conversation, or he was onto him. Either way, Roman shook his head. “No,” he breathed. “I would never, I assure you. My brother made it all up. He wanted me out of his way, I would never even think about committing treason.”

“Your brother?” Logan asked, earning a hum in return from the prince. “Our King, you mean?”

Oh. He most certainly knew, then. Roman’s eyes dropped to his hands, folded in his lap. “Yes,” he sighed reluctantly. He didn’t know how to feel about Logan knowing about his true identity, but there wasn’t much use in trying to deny it. “Please don’t tell Patton.”

He couldn’t risk Patton finding out. Even just a single person knowing about him and about him being here was a risk. He didn’t want to risk even more. He didn’t want to die, to get Patton and Logan involved in all of this. They had nothing to do with this. 

“He would be willing to help you no matter what,” Logan assured him. “Your heritage isn’t relevant, you are welcome here nonetheless.”

Roman smiled at this comment. It was nice to hear people say he was welcome here — and mean it. He hadn’t had much interaction with people lately, let alone _pleasant_ interactions. So this was a welcome change. 

“I know,” he muttered. “But I’d rather he didn’t know. I don’t want to complicate this even further. Even me just being here could bring you into danger. I wouldn’t want that on my conscience. You don’t deserve that.”

“I can say for both me and Patton that that’s a risk we are willing to take, Your Highness,” Logan said. “As I said, you’re welcome to stay here as long as you want. I don’t doubt that Patton would agree.”

Roman made a face at the use of the title. “Just Roman is good,” he said with a small smile as he hesitantly met Logan’s eyes — they were bright blue; sharp but mesmerizing and a stark contrast to his dark hair. “Or… Ro. I haven’t been much of a prince lately, so using that title feels almost superfluous.”

“Very well,” Logan nodded. “Ro, then.”

After a brief moment of silence had passed, Patton came back from outside. He carried a small cup of milk. As fresh as could be, he had added as he placed it on the table, in front of Roman.

Immediately, Patton walked back to the cabinets in the kitchen area and started looking through their stuff. Not much later, he emerged, holding a small plate with some food. It wasn’t much; just some bread, carrots and a bit of cheese. But it was the best they had here. It was food.

“Here you go,” Patton smiled as he pretty much pushed the plate into Roman’s hands. “It’s not a lot, but…”

“It’s perfect,” Roman interrupted softly. “Thanks.”

It was more than what he had eaten for most of these past weeks. After all, cheese, while not exactly a luxury, wasn’t easy to get by when you had no place to stay and you had no livestock. So this really was great. It was a nice change. 

After he’d finished eating, the three of them got to talking a bit more — and Roman finally took off his cape, discarding his bag and his sword as well. He had found out that Logan was one of a few teachers in this town — only two, apparently — while Patton was a farmer. They kept crops and some cattle as well as chickens. And as weird as it felt for Roman to say, he had to admit that he was curious to see the animals the next morning. He even offered to help Patton out if needed. Even if it was just to make up for the help they had offered _him_. 

“I do feel like I should mention that there are still people after me,” Roman said after a moment. He still felt wrong being here. He couldn’t stop thinking about what might happen if the wrong people found out he was staying here. They were so kind in letting him stay here, but… what if it ended up badly? “I don’t want to get you two in any trouble. If they find me here, I don’t know what will happen, but-”

“That’s okay, Ro,” Patton interrupted gently, giving the younger male a small smile he hoped to be reassuring. “You can stay here, okay? For as long as you feel safe.”

“I- I wouldn’t…”

“I think we’re both well aware of what might happen, but you’re safe here for as long as you want,” he continued, before giving his partner a look. “Right, Lo?”

“Quite right,” Logan nodded. “I don’t think anyone will just _happen_ to pass by here if they don’t have any business here.”

“So what you’re saying is that, if anyone will stop by here, they’ll already be out to kill me?” Roman asked, trying to make some kind of joke. Even though this was also a legitimate question.

“If… you’d prefer to phrase it that way, then sure,” Logan said with another nod. “The only people that will come here spontaneously are our friends. If a stranger will stop by, they won’t be here on accident, I am quite sure.”

Roman wasn’t sure if that was a reassurance or not. He’d sure live in fear of anyone knocking on the door any time of day right now, but the fact that people weren’t likely to see him here just passing by was good to hear. That was one thing. Not a full reassurance, but something. 

Roman gave the two a small smile. The fact that they were willing to help him for as long as he needed was… sweet. And easily the nicest thing anyone had ever done for him in the time he had been on the run. 

“Thanks,” he said softly, looking at both of them, before turning to his hands. “I… I really do appreciate your help, don’t get me wrong. But I wouldn’t want to be a burden on either of you, so you’re free to-”

“You’re not a burden on us, Ro,” Patton interrupted once more. “We’re more than willing to help. You’re okay.” 

After a bit more conversation, it was decided that it was, in fact, late. And Roman was exhausted after going with hardly any sleep for the past two nights. So he was more than happy to get some rest. 

Patton showed him to what would be his room for the time being. There were three rooms upstairs; the first room was Patton and Logan’s shared bedroom. Opposite that room was a smaller room that Logan usually used as an office of some sorts, where he sat if he needed to work without any distractions. Directly next to the office was a bedroom that would be Roman’s. It wasn’t huge, like everything else in the house, but it would suffice. It was an actual bedroom with an actual bed. And he didn’t even have to share. 

There was a small bed in the corner of the room, a bedside table next to it. Against the wall opposite the bed was a small dresser. A window over the dresser gave a view of the fields around the house, even though right now, it just showed darkness. 

Patton explained the drill to him; he and Logan would wake up early to get ready for both of their respective jobs, but Roman was free to do whatever he wanted, even though he had offered to help out. There was more than enough to do all day around — and Patton could see that the poor kid was exhausted, so he didn’t want to ask too much of him. He’d make sure there was breakfast for Roman whenever he came downstairs. 

“Thank you,” the prince said for the thousandth time that day. “For… all this.”

“Of course, Ro,” Patton said, nudging Roman slightly with his shoulder. “Get some rest, yeah?”

Roman nodded, giving the other a grateful smile. “I will,” he said. “Thank you.”

Patton smiled back at him and stepped back, closing the door as Roman entered the room. There was only one lamp in the room that gave off a dim, yet cozy light, but it was all he needed for the time being. 

As the door closed behind him, Roman walked over to the window and looked outside. He couldn’t see much, but the outlines of the trees in the distance were calming and the stars in the sky were simply gorgeous. He looked at it for a moment or two, but he realised he was absolutely exhausted, so he turned away. His bag and sword came to rest on top of the dresser. He did have a change of clothes, but… neither of them were particularly clean, so… he didn’t think that it would be worth it to change. So he pulled the curtains close and blew out the sole candle lighting up the room. 

Roman walked over to the bed and laid down. The bed was so much more comfortable than anything he’d slept on recently. Even the nights he’d spent in an inn weren’t as comfortable as this. He hated the realisation that, at this point, he had really dropped so low that even a simple bed felt like a luxury to him. It was almost embarrassing to realise that this is where he was right now, especially compared to where he had started off. But he had to accept that this was his life right now. He was on the run. His brother wanted him dead. Nowhere else to go. This was his life now.

Almost as soon as he closed his eyes, Roman fell asleep. He had been absolutely exhausted and he could use some good sleep for once. 

By the time he woke up, the sun was high in the sky already and Logan and Patton had gone to work hours ago. Roman couldn’t say that he was fully rested, but he felt so much better than before. He ate the breakfast Patton had left for him — bread and some vegetables — before going outside to meet Patton, who was very busy checking on their cows. 

Roman smiled as he got outside — although it took some effort, due to his injuries from the night before. He’d sustained quite a lot of bruises, after all. 

“Ro!” Patton called out as he saw the young prince approaching. “How are you feeling?”

He stopped what he was doing for a while and walked over to the other, leaning against the fence. 

“Better,” Roman responded simply. “Which doesn’t mean a lot, but… definitely better.”

“Good, if there’s anything-” Patton cut himself off when one of the cows came up to him, slightly nudging his arm. “Yeah, I’ll get to you in a bit, sweetheart. Be patient, will you?” He chuckled as he rubbed the top of her head. 

“Do you need any help with them?” the prince suggested softly, smiling at the cow next to Patton. Being outside here, with all the animals, crops and nature was rather calming. It felt so… _free_ . In a way he’d never experienced before. Not even back at the palace, where he was barely even allowed off the grounds — and while they were spacious, it still felt like he was trapped. Remus, on the other hand, he was allowed to leave the palace grounds. Sure, it was limited and there were several conditions. But he was _allowed_ to go out on his own, even though he knew Remus wouldn’t care even if he wasn’t allowed to go out. Roman had always envied that. He wanted that tiny bit of freedom that his brother had while he was stuck inside, preparing to be a king. Preparation that had all been in vain, in the end. 

Patton shook his head. “No, thank you,” he smiled. “You should get a bit of rest first, kiddo. I’ll be fine.”

“Are you sure?”

“Very sure,” the other nodded, pushing the cow next to him away slightly as she tried to grab his attention. “I appreciate the offer, though, but you should take care of yourself first. Don’t worry about me. Daisy here is just a little attention seeker.”

Roman smiled as Patton sent a fake glare at the cow — Daisy, apparently. “Do they all have names?” he asked softly, eyes drifting over the rest of the animals. They were by no means alike, but he had no idea how one could possibly keep them apart. 

“Oh, most certainly,” Patton nodded enthusiastically. “You want to meet them?”

“It would be a pleasure.”

Time passed rather quickly and the longer he stayed, the less Roman thought about leaving. At first, he had told himself he’d stay until he had recovered. But he got attached to Logan and Patton, as well as all the animals they owned. They kept quite a lot of animals; cows, sheep, chickens and even a few horses, as well as two cats that wandered around in the area to keep the mice at bay. Of course, the horses where the ones that caught Roman’s attention most of all, even though he liked all of the animals. 

Once he felt good enough, Roman even started helping Patton out with his job on the farm, keeping an eye on the animals, taking care of the crops. He needed help, of course, since he had no experience at all. But once he got the hang of it, Roman found that he actually started to enjoy it. He could definitely get used to this. 

And as time passed, he also started to feel safer in the town. At first, he rarely got out of the house, just going out on the fields belonging to the property. But the longer he stayed, the more comfortable Roman started to feel in the area. He never stopped being cautious, but he at least allowed himself to get out of the house. Just a little bit. Here and there. 

One fateful day, Roman was out to the stables a little down the road to take care of the horses. It was one of his favourite things to do, simply because he loved horses and he had missed being able to take care of them. At this point, it had been a little over a year since he had to run away from everything he’d known. He was starting to think that he wouldn’t mind spending the rest of his life with Logan and Patton. 

At the time, both Logan and Patton were at home. It was late in the afternoon and both of them had finished most of their work for the day. So they were now just waiting for Roman to return. 

The two partners were casually chatting, Logan telling the other about his day at work and how incredibly dumb some people could be. Patton listened happily, humming occasionally as he listened, more than happy to listen to his partner’s rambles.

However, Logan suddenly fell quiet as he looked at Patton, a small frown forming on his face as he listened to something he heard, trying to figure out what was going on. In their silence, the two of them heard a ruckus outside. The sound of horses approaching and the murmuring of voices. Whatever that could mean… 

He walked over to the window to look outside. There, Patton saw a small group of three men on horses approaching their house. The two men on the side rode white horses and were clad in armour. But the man in the middle was the one who caught his attention. He was clad in black and green robes, a cape to match. He rode a dark horse and looked unmistakably royal. 

“Logan,” he called out softly as the men got off their horses, making their way towards the little house. “You didn’t happen to invite the king over for dinner, did you?”

Roman had spent most of the afternoon taking care of the horses. After he’d taken care of all of them, he spent a little bit more time in the stables just to coddle the animals a little bit more. He missed being able to spoil his own horses, so now that Patton and Logan allowed him to take care of their horses… he most definitely would make sure to spoil them all he could. It’s what they deserved, after all. They were nothing but incredible. They’d gotten quite attached to Roman in the past few weeks and the prince couldn’t be happier about it.

Near the end of the day, he made his way back home — could he really call it home? He wasn’t sure, but it sure felt like it at this point. He had gotten rather comfortable there, at least and he really did love Patton and Logan. So for as long as he stayed here… it would definitely be home. For now. 

The prince hummed a song under his breath as he went back to the cottage. He was way more comfortable walking on the street right now, even though he was still scared of being recognized. It seemed that the people in the village had gotten used to him being there by now. Which was… good? He didn’t seem to draw so much attention, anyways. Even despite this, he was cautious, and maybe a little paranoid. But he started to open up a little bit.

He finally made it to the house and opened the door. “Guys, I’m… back?” He frowned as he looked around the room. It seemed as if a hurricane had destroyed the room, with towels, coats and pillows thrown about — he could even see some paperwork on the stairs which had to be papers from Logan’s office upstairs. His bag and sword were also visible in a corner of the room, which was odd, given the fact that Roman kept those in the room that had now become his own.

But the most shocking things he could see as he turned his head, were the lifeless bodies of Logan and Patton on the couches in the living area. Logan was sat on one of the couches, blood dripping from the wound on his stomach onto the pillow on the couch, his head leaned against the backrest. Patton was draped over the backrest of the other couch, a deep cut on his throat and a wound on his chest. 

Roman slapped a hand over his mouth as he looked at the scene, wondering who on Earth would do this, and more importantly _why_. He couldn’t think of anyone who would want to do this to either of them. Neither Logan nor Patton had done any harm to anyone and they were known and liked in the village. Who would… 

“Ah, Roman.” The prince jumped as a voice suddenly cut through the silence. “I was wondering when you would come back.”

Roman took a few steps back, his eyes widening as he looked in the direction of the stairs. “Remus,” he hissed softly. How did Remus find him here? How did he _know_?

“It has been a while, hasn’t it?” Remus continued smugly as he made his way over to the other. “I must say, I was disappointed to see you were absent at my coronation.”

“I do apologise,” Roman replied through gritted teeth, trying not to show the fact that he was terrified of his brother right now. “I was too busy trying to run for my life. I should have let you know I would be missing.”

“I would have appreciated that,” Remus nodded. He stopped in front of Roman, now towering over him due to the heels underneath his boots. 

“Why did you kill them?” the prince asked, a slight tremble in his voice as he looked away. He just couldn’t get himself to look at Remus. Not after… everything. “They didn’t do anything wrong.”

“They hid a wanted man,” his twin reminded him. “Do I need to remind you that that’s a crime?”

“Not punishable by death.”

“Now it is,” Remus shrugged. “I changed that about… an hour ago.” He gave Roman a broad grin before turning around dramatically and walking to the kitchen table, so he could sit down in one of the chairs. 

Roman ran a hand through his hair as he looked down. He couldn’t believe that his damn _brother_ had found him all the way here, killed the men who had helped him. And now he was indubitably about to kill him as well. He couldn’t believe that this was happening, he couldn’t believe that they were _dead_. 

“How did you find me?” he finally asked, giving Remus a stern look. He wanted to know. Someone must have seen him here — but he didn’t know why they chose to sell him out to Remus instead of taking the full honour to themself. 

“When the crown prince of the country takes residence in a small village, that tends to rouse conversation,” the King responded casually. “Especially with a history like yours.”

“One that’s fake.”

“They don’t know that.”

All Roman could do in response to that, was glare at his twin. He hated everything that Remus had done to him, he was angry- _furious_ about his lies and tricks. But there was still a part of him that was glad to see him alive. Glad to see him in person after more than a year. But after everything Remus had done… he couldn’t even look at his brother anymore.

“Remus,” Roman said after a while, “why are you doing this? What on Earth did I do to you so… cause this?”

Remus scoffed. “Isn’t it obvious?” he wondered, crossing his legs as he looked at his older brother. “In our youth, everyone always paid attention to _you_ . I was never as important as you were. You were the _crown prince_ . The _heir._ I was just the prince. Just not important enough.”

“And why is that my fault?” Roman asked with an incredulous scoff. “I never _asked_ for any of that. I didn’t want all the attention, the rules, the expectations. I wanted the freedom you had more than anything. You were my brother, Remus. All I wanted was to spend more time with you.”

“And I _hated_ you,” Remus hissed in response, his hands gripping the backrest of the chair until his knuckles turned white. “I despised you for everything you did.”

Roman shook his head, running his hands through his hair. Hearing Remus tell him to his face that he hated him was… a lot. Even after he literally offered a reward to whoever could kill or capture him, it hurt to hear his brother — the only family member he had left — say he hated him, it _hurt_. It hurt more than anything he’d ever felt before. 

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, the words coming out soft and vulnerable, before he even realised what he was saying. “I’m sorry for everything. I never asked for a treatment like that either. I wish we could have just… been brothers together. I am sorry for whatever I did to make you hate me, Remus.”

There was a weird kind of silence between the two of them, in which Remus seemed to consider those words. 

“So you really are sorry?” he asked softly, looking at his twin, who nodded. “Very well. Beg, then.”

Roman blinked. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me,” the king said simply as he nodded his head at the floor in front of him. “Beg. Show me you’re _actually_ sorry.”

“No, I’m not doing that,” Roman said with a shake of his head. He knew Remus was just saying this to mess with him. He couldn’t be serious, right? “I am your brother. I’m not going to beg you for forgiveness.”

“You forget that I am also your _King,_ ” Remus stressed as he leaned forwards a little bit. “And you are still a wanted man. Unless you want me to reconsider what to do with you… you better do as I tell you, Roman.” He raised an eyebrow, almost daring Roman to disobey him. And Roman _wanted_ to. But he didn’t want to risk anything either. He didn’t want to die at the hands of his brother and he didn’t want this dumb feud between them. He just wanted them to be brothers for once. 

So, even with every part of him screaming not to, Roman took a few steps forwards and got to his knees, looking down at the floor so he didn’t have to look at Remus. He was doing this to mess with him, he was sure, To humiliate and embarrass him even further. But if it meant making things alright between them… he’d do it. 

“I am sorry,” he repeated, “I truly am. I never wished for things to end up the way they did. And if I could do anything to change it, I would do it in a heartbeat. I apologise. Please, you have to believe me.”

It remained quiet for a moment and Roman looked up, nervous to see Remus’ gaze. His brother looked at him with an amused smile, and Roman had no idea how to interpret this. This was Remus; it could mean a thousand things. 

“I never thought I’d ever be witness to this,” he grinned as he got up. “But I do appreciate your apologies, Roman. Maybe… we can move past this. You should come back home.”

 _Home_. This was home now. But… going back to his actual home was- tempting. However..

“Come home?” he scoffed incredulously, turning his head so he could look up at his younger twin. “You accused me of _treason_ , you put a prize on my head. I’ve been on the run for _months_ trying to avoid being killed because of _you_. You just killed two people I care about. You ruined my life and now… you want me to come home?”

Remus grimaced as he looked at the two bodies in the room. “Yes,” he said slowly. “I do agree I… might have taken it too far. And I do apologise. But I have grown. I was young, and quite frankly, naive when I did that.”

“It’s been a year.”

“I wasn’t a king back then,” Remus responded with a simple shrug. “I have learned a lot in the time you were gone, Roman. There hasn’t been a day since you left that I haven’t regretted my actions.” Said prince looked at the bodies of his friends for a moment, doubtful. “Maybe we can… move past this. If you allow me to, that is. So-” He held out a hand, looking at Roman expectantly. “What do you say? Do you want to come home with me?”

Roman looked at his brother’s hand for a second, thinking about this offer. He was tempted to say yes. He wanted nothing more than to come home, move past all of this and live his life again. No more running, no more fear of people trying to kill him. He was exhausted, and he just wanted this to be over. He was sick and tired of being paranoid, of running away, of never having a stable home. How could he refuse?

“Yeah,” he said with a smile as he took Remus’ outstretched hand. “I think I do.” 


	2. Disaster Strikes

_ A disaster has struck our picturesque town! Yesterday afternoon, the house of Logan Clarke, one of our two only teachers, and his partner Patton Blythe, has burned down. Neighbours were alerted when they heard someone yelling from inside the house, which was already ablaze at the time. Despite the community’s best effort, no one could be saved as the house burned. Luckily, they managed to control the fire before it reached the forest.  _

_ Three bodies were found inside the ruins of the house, likely belonging to Logan, Patton and the unidentified guest who has been seen around their house and around town regularly as of late. However, all three of the bodies were beyond recognition.  _

_ Who or what started the fire, and why is not yet clear. It has been speculated that it was an attempted attack on the life of Our King, who visited the house earlier that day for reasons still unknown.  _


End file.
